Epidemic
by ShadowofaHeart
Summary: Keyblade Wielders all over the worlds are suddenly falling ill to a an unknown disease. When Sora becomes another victim of the sickness, it's up to Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Xion, and Axel to help him before it's too late. Will they find the cure in time? Or will this be the end of the famous Keyblade Wielder?
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N: I just can't do one fic at a time, can I? Ah well... Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Of **_**course**_** I own Kingdom Hearts! I also straightened the Leaning Tower of Pisa and invented popcorn!)**

* * *

**Epidemic**

_ Keyblade wielders all over the worlds are suddenly falling ill to an unknown disease. Symptoms are dizziness, headache, upset stomach, sudden weakness, fever, and excessive sleep. We are not quite sure yet of the cause, but we are working hard to find it and a cure. For now, all the diseased are being quarantined at Merlin's._

_ Just wanted you to know,_

_ ~Mickey M._

Sora folded up the most recent letter from the King as complete silence entered the room. Riku and Kairi stared at him, mouths wide open and fear etched in their faces. When Sora had asked them to come over that morning, they had expected news about Kingdom Hearts or Xehanort or something, not... this. This was much worse. They could fight Xehanort and deal with Kingdom Hearts. A disease, however, especially one they knew nothing about, they couldn't.

Riku closed his mouth and swallowed. "Well..." he began. "That's... new."

"Only Keyblade Wielders? No others?" Kairi questioned.

"As far as I know. That's all I was told. But... if we don't find a cure soon enough, others might be affected as well."

"...Anyone we know?"

Sora bit his lip. "...Ventus, and it's starting to look like Terra too. Aqua is okay for now. Van's been missing since it started."

"Knowing him, he might be the cause of it," Riku muttered.

"I doubt it. It seems a bit out of his league," Kairi pointed out.

"Roxas, Axel, and Xion are all fine," Sora continued. "But Ace, Noah, and Ali are all really sick.

"Not them..." Kairi mumbled, fighting back tears. Ace, Noah, and Ali were three seven year old Keyblade Wielders who lived in Radiant Garden. Kairi had immediately befriended them when they had first met, and Sora had shown them a few Keyblade tricks.

"...That's all I was told so far. But according to the King, there are a lot more."

"So how can we help? We aren't doctors," Riku said.

"The King thinks Van might know something. If we can find him, we might be one step closer to finding the cure."

"So let's go!" Kairi said, standing.

Sora shook his head. "Nuh uh. You're staying here. Me and Riku will go. That way, if the disease is on specific worlds, you'll be safe here."

"But-"

"It's for your own good, Kai," Riku interrupted.

"You always say that. It's not a good enough excuse anymore! Actually, it never was! C'mon, Sora, I can take care of myself! Please?" She gave him a puppy-dog look.

"Weeeell..." He sighed. "Fine. Go and pack up. We'll head off tomorrow."

"Thank you so much, Sora!" she squealed, running over to give him a hug. The brunette blushed and Riku rolled his eyes.

"Meet at the Gummi Ship," he muttered, walking out. Kairi let go and grinned at Sora before following him.

"See ya!"

Once his best friends had gone, Sora slumped on his chair. Recently he had been getting tired more often, even when he wasn't doing anything. He put a hand on his head, then quickly recoiled. He was burning! That explained the headache... Sighing, he stood and got out some fever reducer.

"Sure hope I feel better by tomorrow," he mumbled. He swallowed the pills in one gulp, then checked the clock. "Only three? Huh, strange. It feels like it's midnight, I'm so tired. ...I guess it's nothing a nap can't fix." He started for the stairs to his bedroom, then changed his mind and dragged himself to the couch. Flopping down on the cushions, he was out in the blink of an eye.


	2. Chapter 2

**Epidemic**

Unfortunately for Sora, fate didn't like to work in his favor. The first thing he noticed when he awoke the next morning were the loud claps of thunder, bright flashes of lightning, and thousands of pitter-patters as rain beat on the roof. A thunderstorm. He sighed. Nothing good ever happened when he woke up to a thunderstorm. Last time it had been the Heartless attack on Destiny Islands.

The second thing he noticed was his fever and headache hadn't left. If anything, they had gotten worse. He slowly sat up, closing his eyes until the dizzy feeling went away. Once he stood up, his eyes widened and he fled to the bathroom. The toilet lid was flung open frantically before Sora's lunch from the day before came to say hello.

After he was finished, he wiped his mouth, washed his hands, then glanced at the digital clock. 12:02 glowed back at him. "Crap," he muttered. "Riku and Kairi are gonna be so-" He was interrupted when the front door slammed open. "-Ticked."

"SOOOORAAAA!" Riku yelled, pure fury in his voice. The sixteen year old was drenched, his silver hair plastered to his face, his clothes clinging to his body. He had been waiting for _four hours_ at the Gummi Ship, ready to meet up with his friends. Kairi had come an hour after him, but Sora had never arrived. And then the storm started.

Kairi, standing next to him, didn't look too happy either. She too was soaked to the bone, in the same condition as Riku. Sure, she had expected Sora to be late, but to not come at all and leave them in the rain? She crossed her arms and glared around the room, searching for the brunette, who was nowhere to be found.

"Where is that idiot?" Riku muttered. His question was answered when loud, painful-sounding coughs were heard from the bathroom. They glanced at each other worriedly, before running towards the sound.

"Sora, what- oh no..." Kairi trailed off, staring at the poor boy, who had his head partially in the toilet again. Riku quietly cursed, slamming his fist on the door frame.

The brunette looked up pitifully at his two best friends. Bags hung underneath his slightly bloodshot eyes, his nose was running, and a line of drool dribbled down his chin. He was shaking with fever, his head throbbing due to the headache. Nevertheless, he managed a weak grin.

"H-Hey guys..." he croaked. "Sup?"

Riku groaned and proceeded to bang his forehead against the wall, while Kairi knelt down next to Sora and wiped his mouth with a tissue. That's all he would allow her to do, though, fearing she would catch what he had.

"Why didn't you _tell us_ that you were sick?!"

Sora shrugged half-heartedly, looking up at Riku. "Didn't want ya... to worry..."

"Sora, you have that disease Mickey warned us about!" Kairi smacked him upside the head, though actually barely hitting him, not wanting to injure him more.

"I... thought it was just a cold... or something..." He struggled to stand up, leaning against the wall for support. "I can... deal with it-"

"Nuh uh. We're taking you to Merlin's."

"But I haven't packed yet..."

"Kairi, go get some stuff for him. I'll help him to the ship." The redhead nodded and headed upstairs. Once she was gone, Riku made Sora lean most of his weight on him as he helped him slowly walk to the ship, grabbing an umbrella on the way out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Epidemic**

"This is not good. I-I-In fact, I'm afraid it's quite serious," Merlin commented as he looked over the sick boy, stroking his beard thoughtfully, though worriedly. Leon, over near the computer, sighed, leaning his head on his hand depressingly. Riku crossed his arms, brow furrowed, while Kairi anxiously bit her lip. Cid, Aerith, and Yuffie were with Tron, unaware of the problem. Sora, the sick one himself, lay on a makeshift bed, which was really just piles of books covered with a sheet and old pillows. A wet rag had been placed on his sweaty forehead, and a thermometer was stuck in his mouth, the red liquid inside inching upwards every second. His bangs were plastered to his head, and chills ran through his diseased, pale body.

During the ride in the Gummi ship, he had slowly gotten worse. Though his empty stomach stopped him from throwing up, his fever rose considerably, producing more symptoms of the disease. Riku and Kairi had rushed him to Merlin, using Aero to transport him without getting sick themselves.

"Perhaps I should summon the King..." mumbled Merlin to himself. "He would have some ideas... yes..." He wandered off to one of the back rooms, Leon hesitating before following.

Riku drew Kairi aside. "He'll be okay," he assured. "He's been through much worse."

She glanced back at Sora. "I know, but... well, _look_ at him! I've never seen anything like it..."

Instead of replying, his eyes traveled to his mess of a best friend, gazing over the now weakened body. He remembered times he had gotten sick, and Sora had always come bouncing into his home, trying to cheer him up and make him feel better. At first he was an annoyance, but through his games, jokes, and other distractions, the silver-haired boy had found himself feeling better. Sora was always there for him, even if he didn't want him to be. Now it was his turn. His eyes narrowed.

"We need to find Vanitas," he said at last. "I _know_ he knows something."

"But we can't just leave him!" Kairi protested.

"He's safe here. He'll be taken care of."

"Yeah, but-"

The front door opened, halting their conversation. Cid, Aerith, and Yuffie walked in, back from their excursion with Tron. Yuffie bounced inside, jumping gleefully to the teens when she saw them, Aerith calmly headed to the computer to begin work on who-knows-what, and Cid flicked his toothpick and whistled.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes! Where's yer friend?"

"Yeah, where's Sora?" Yuffie questioned, looking around the room expectantly.

Simultaneously, all eyes suddenly traveled to the boy, who had fallen into a fitful sleep.

"Oh no..." whispered Aerith.

"Crap," Cid muttered.

Yuffie stayed silent for once, staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

"How long has he...?" Aerith began.

"For a few days, at least." Riku avoided their gazes, choosing to glare at the floor instead. "Didn't even bother to tell us until we found him on the bathroom floor," he muttered.

"Where's Leon?" Yuffie spoke up at last. "Does he know?"

Kairi nodded. "He went somewhere in the back, following Merlin."

"Probably going to try and get the King." Aerith stood from the computer chair. "I will help them." As she was walking out, Yuffie mumbled something along the lines of joining her, and headed after the brunette.

Cid leaned over and observed Sora carefully. "...Yep. He's got it alright. That weird sickness every other Keyblade Wielder's getting'. I'm surprised you two are still okay."

"We heard Aqua was healthy too," Kairi pointed out.

"Yeah, she is. For now at least. But she's always with those boys, helpin'. Won't be too long now 'til she gets it, I bet."

"'Those boys'? You mean Ven and Terra, right?"

Cid nodded. "Yep. Them. And them kids, too." He walked over to the computer, sitting down in the now-abandoned chair. "I'm still workin' on figuring out the cause and a cure."

"There doesn't seem to be any connection save they wield Keyblades. Do you think-"

"Nope. There's nothing bout them blades that's making 'em sick. Checked already."

"So we're stuck on square one," muttered Riku.

"Not necessarily," a voice spoke up. All three turned around, and saw Aqua standing in the doorway to the sick bay. She smiled at Kairi and Riku. "Glad to see you two."

"Not when you see what we brought."

Aqua raised an eyebrow. "...Vanitas?"

"Sora."

Her eyes widened. "No..." She glanced at the brunette. "No... not him..."

"We need to find a cure as soon as possible," Cid reminded.

"What did you mean by 'not necessarily'?" questioned Kairi.

Aqua pulled off her gloves as she talked. "I was thinking: Roxas, Xion, and Axel are fine as far as I know."

"Axel's not even a Keyblade Wielder."

"True... Anyway, and Vanitas is missing, but we don't know where he is."

"That's right."

"My guess is that as soon as it started up, he hightailed it out of there, but whether to find a cure or stay healthy, I'm not sure. But who knows? He might have dropped by Twilight Town."

"Oh, I get it!" Kairi exclaimed. "We go meet up with the former Nobodies, and see what they know!"

"Exactly. Even if Vanitas hadn't been with them, they might have some ideas about the sickness."

Cid smacked his fist on the keyboard. "That's it, then! You two-" He pointed to Kairi and Riku. "-Go and find those former Nobodies. Any information you can get is helpful. And you-" He moved his finger to point it at Aqua. "-Need to help this 'hero' here. Now get!" He shooed them away, Riku and Kairi outside, and Aqua, once she had gotten Sora, to the sick bay.

"Dang teens. Won't do nothin' until ya get on their case..."

* * *

Aqua was walking towards Terra's room to check up on him, when a sudden pain shot through her head. She grimaced, pressing a hand to her temple in an attempt to ward off the headache. That's when she heard the barely-audible voice.

_"You will fall," _it hissed. _"You will all fall." _The voice was high-pitched and navally, but definitely a male's. Before she could think more of it, however, the headache grew more intense. She stumbled, pressing both hands to her head as she groaned in pain. Nothing could stop the pain. She was able to make out only one last phrase before she blacked out and collapsed to the ground.

"_No one will escape the Virus."_


	4. Chapter 4

**Epidemic**

Axel, Roxas, and Xion lived in a small, two-floor townhouse in the middle of Twilight Town. After the rescue escapade, in which Xion and Axel were saved and Roxas revived, the three friends had decided to live together there. It was at this house that Kairi and Riku now stood on the front porch of. Axel had clearly taken control of decorating the door, for flames were painted all over it, and the doorknob was in the shape of a fire symbol. Trying to suppress their smiles, they knocked on the door.

After a moment, the door creaked open, and Axel poked his head out. Seeing who it was, he opened the door more.

"Riku... Kairi... What brings you here?" he asked, surprisingly serious.

"Nothing good, unfortunately," Riku answered.

"...Come on in," he said, allowing them inside. "You could have at least called or something," he added. "We have to restock on ice cream."

"Sorry, it was a little impromptu," Kairi apologized. The living room had a cozy feel to it, with beige walls covered in assorted posters and pictures of the trio, two couches, a large TV, and a red recliner. Axel offered them a seat on one of the sofas, then sat on the recliner.

"So, what's up?" Axel questioned, raising a short eyebrow. "And where's Sora?"

Riku glanced at Kairi. "...Where are Roxas and Xion?"

The pyro scratched the back of his head. "Uh... Upstairs, I think. Why?"

"They might want to hear this too."

* * *

"So we came here, hoping that Vanitas had-"

Roxas, who sat next to Xion on the other couch, coughed for what seemed like the billionth time, interrupting the explanation yet again. He was apparently showing some symptoms of the disease, most likely due to his Somebody being ill. Once the coughing fit stopped, the blonde blew his nose in another tissue.

"Sorry..." he mumbled, voice nasally.

"It's fine, Roxas. It's not your fault." Kairi smiled apologetically at him.

"I'm guessing Vanitas didn't visit, huh?" Riku asked Axel.

He shook his head. "Nope. Haven't seen him since Sora helped free everyone. And even then I rarely saw him."

"We know it has to be connected, somehow," Roxas spoke up. "Stuff like this doesn't just happen by chance."

Xion crossed her arms, thinking. "If it's not the Keyblades affecting them..." she began. "...Then maybe... someone's trying to get rid of them. Poison them, or something like that."

"...Yeah," Axel agreed. "Get rid of all the heroes, and you can do what you want."

"But who can control a disease?" Kairi wondered.

"Wish I could..." Roxas muttered. "Be really helpful right now..."

"It couldn't be Xehanort... Even he wouldn't be able to control a virus."

"Seems like matters got a whole lot worse..." Riku observed. "Not only do we have to find a cure, but a source..."

"And I think we all know who might know something about it," Xion said.

"Vanitas."

* * *

_"We found her in the middle of the hallway, unconscious. She hasn't woken up."_

Riku's frown deepened. "Do you know when or how this happened?"

_"Unfortunately, no. I'd say we found her a few hours after she collapsed, but I'm not sure. Terra is blaming himself for it, saying she worked too much because of him."_

"And Ven?"

_"He doesn't know. Hasn't woken up yet. He barely does, now that I think about it..."_

"How's Sora?" the silver-haired boy interrupted.

_"He's asleep as well. Seems to be in some sort of nightmare. His Keyblade keeps appearing and disappearing, and he's thrashing around. His fever hasn't broken yet either. Doesn't look good."_

Riku crossed his arms. "Roxas is getting some symptoms. It looks like a common cold, but..."

_"Nothing's a coincidence. It has to be a connection to Sora."_

"Xion... had an idea. What if someone's controlling the disease – making only the Keyblade Wielders get sick. That way, when he tried to take over Kingdom Hearts or something, no one could stop him."

_"It's possible, I guess... But how someone could control a disease is beyond me."_

"It's beyond all of us. We _have _to find Vanitas. And soon. He knows something..."

_"...Meet us back here and we'll discuss it with everyone. Hopefully Aqua will be awake by the __time you arrive."_

"Alright. Talk to you later, Merlin, Leon." He flipped off the Gummi Ship's communicator, something Cid had installed before they had left, then sighed. Kairi, next to him, bit her lip, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye as she drove.

Axel, Roxas, and Xion, in the seats behind them, exchanged worried glances. If Aqua was out, then who would be next?


	5. Chapter 5

**Epidemic**

They were in Aqua's room, surrounding her bed. She was propped up with a pillow or two, still drowsy but luckily awake. Roxas and Xion sat on the end of her bed, avoiding her legs. Axel sat in a folding chair near them. The others – Riku, Kairi, Cid, and Leon – chose to stand. Merlin was checking on Ven in his comatose-like state.

"So..." Axel started, trying to break the uncomfortable silence that had settled between them after Aqua's story.

"'No one will escape the Virus'?" Riku repeated. "Are you sure that's what it said?"

Aqua nodded. "It was the last thing I heard."

"Looks like you were right, Xion," Leon said. "We're up against something completely different than we've ever faced."

"A Virus... A disease... And something that definitely wants us Keyblade Wielders out of the picture," Riku mumbled.

"But why?" Xion asked for all of them. "What does it want? And where did it come from? We don't even know exactly what this 'Virus' is!"

They were silent again, until Merlin suddenly ran into the room, fast for an old man, panting heavily with the effort.

"Sor... not... disa..." he gasped, trying to convey his message while simultaneously trying to regain his breath. The others blinked confused.

"Huh?" Roxas questioned.

Taking a deep breath, Merlin repeated: "Sora's not in his bed! He's gone! Disappeared!"

Their eyes widened. "What?!" Kairi yelled.

"A-All that was left was this note..." The wizard held up a piece of paper, which Cid snatched out of his hand and read aloud.

"'_This is only the beginning, Wielders. Your 'Sora' is just the first victim of the Virus. Just give up already, pathetic Keybladers. There is no hope, there is no cure, and you will all fall._'"

"Sora..." Kairi whispered. Tears leaked out of her eyes, and she covered her face with her hands. Riku placed a hand on her shoulder, his face unreadable. Aqua held a hand to her mouth in a silent gasp. Leon and Cid looked at each other solemnly, then left the room with Merlin to discuss something in private.

Roxas turned to Xion. "He's gone?" he repeated, still unbelieving. Xion hid her eyes with her bangs, and Axel nodded at Roxas, answering his question.

"This Virus has got to go," Axel stated. "It's one thing to sicken people..."

"It's another thing to kidnap Sora and threaten others," Riku finished for him. "Not that either of them are any better, though."

"Which is why we've got to get rid of it," a new voice spoke up from the doorway.

All eyes looked up at the one person they didn't think they'd see.

"Vanitas?!"


End file.
